


Newsian

by newsies_of_corona



Category: Disney - All Media Types, Newsies - All Media Types, Newsies!: the Musical - Fierstein/Menken, Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure (Cartoon), tangled the series
Genre: 1899, Alchemy, Broadway, Disney, Newsies - Freeform, Poor Varian (Disney), Tangled the series - Freeform, Time Travel, Varian - Freeform, Varian Needs a Hug (Disney), fan fiction, rapunzel's tangled adventure - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-04-06
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:08:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22774669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/newsies_of_corona/pseuds/newsies_of_corona
Summary: After the events of Tangled the Series, Varian builds a time machine that somehow transports him over 100 years in the future to the 1899 Newsboys strike. (the Broadway version) Little does he know that this may be his greatest adventure yet...
Comments: 23
Kudos: 58





	1. Right on Time

“Ladies and Gents. After a year of articulate work on this machine, I have done it. I have completed it. Yes, it was hard work and I faced adversity many a time, but I have persevered and now I have finished what I like to call the Hour Apparatus! This machine is highly powered wit- Hey!” Varian’s speech was abruptly cut off by Ruddiger throwing an apple directly in the alchemist’s face. 

“Ruddiger! How many times do I have to tell you to stop interrupting my speeches? I have to practice presenting the machine to Corona, once it works,” Varian added under his breath, “and you are not helping!” He picked up the apple from the floor and handed it to the frisky raccoon sitting at his feet. 

“Now, as I was sayin-” 

But before Varian could say anything else, Ruddiger grabbed the apple and ran out the door. 

“Oh nevermind. At least now I can finish this project in  _ quiet. _ ” 

Varian went over to his workplace where he was running tests on multiple potions. 

His lab was often a mess, but today it was especially full of clutter. Potions and vials of every color imaginable were strewn about on tables all around the room. His two bookshelves in the front and back corners of the room were filled with too many books, some of which were put in spine first. Papers with plans scribbled on them were nailed up all around the room and there were so many papers that he could barely see the wall beneath them. At the center of his lab, an almost finished piece of machinery stood on a platform where Quirin’s amber encased body once was. Varian looked proudly at his time machine thinking about what used to occupy that space. He had come so far and learned so much since he had threatened the kingdom to get his dad back, and now he was able to pursue his dreams more fully. 

Varian had been working very hard in the past year to be the first person to accomplish time travel through “the power of science.” He was on his 85th machine. The others had all either “broke” or blown up, but if he was being honest, they all blew up. After his 84th machine almost lit the whole of Old Corona on fire, Quirin made Varian invent a signal that alerts him if a fire or other form of disaster occurred. It had been 3 months since that last disaster and Varian wasn’t planning on using the device any time soon which is why he had shoved it in the very back of a drawer. Besides, this machine was lasting much longer than the other 84. 

Varian turned back to his work and started testing blue, green, and purple vials by putting them through his homemade distillation apparatus. It was way bigger than it needed to be, and it had copper tubes, vials, and flasks all connected in a disorganized way, but it was organized enough for Varian to know exactly what each part did. 

When the process was over, he took the light teal colored solution and carefully poured it into the slot on the machine. He waited for ten seconds and nothing happened, but then sparks flashed and part of the machine flew off. It would have hit Varian if he hadn’t ducked at the last second which sent the piece shooting into the bookshelf in the back of the room. The sound alerted his father downstairs. 

“Varian! What’s going on in there?” Quirin yelled. 

“Everything’s fine dad!” Varian yelled back. “I just dropped a book...shelf.” He let the rest of that sentence trail off as the shelf fell and he got off the ground to pick it up. 

He struggled to lift it himself but he wasn’t strong enough. Quirin knew enough about his son to know that he didn’t just “drop books” and went upstairs to help him. Quirin helped his son pick up the bookshelf, but really he just lifted it with one arm while Varian watched in awe. When the shelf was up and the books were back in their place, Quirin took a look around the room. He knew Varian had been working on something big, but he had no idea that it was this intense. 

“So this is why you can’t help with the harvest.” 

“Haha yeah sorry about that.” Varian laughed nervously.

“That’s quite an invention you have there. What do you call it?”

“Well technically I named it the Hour Apparatus, but I’m beginning to believe that Time Machine might be a better fit because of the design and how it-” Quirin stopped Varian’s ramble by placing a hand on his shoulder. 

“Well whatever you decide to call it son, just know that I’m so proud of you, Varian. Over these past years, you’ve really grown to be a smart and talented young man and I believe that your inventions will help so many people in the future.” Varian was very touched by this and hugged his dad. 

“Thank you, dad. It really means a lot.”

“You’re welcome, son. Well, I’ll let you get back to work. I assume we won’t see you for apple harvesting this afternoon either?”

“Um-ya know this is probably going to take a while but I’ll see if I can make it?” Varian trailed off knowing fully well that he wasn’t going to help with the apple harvest when there was so much science to explore. 

When Quirin left, Varian went back to his work. He hammered in the piece that came off of the machine and tested a couple more solutions through his distillation apparatus. Three failed attempts and four hours later, he crafted a deep blue solution that he poured into the machine. 

“This is the one. I can feel it,” Varian whispered under his breath. After five seconds the light on the machine turned green meaning the chemical reaction had worked. 

“Yes! I can’t believe it worked! After 84 failed attempts, and possibilities of destroying my town,” Varian added with a laugh, “I have finally made the first working time machine!” Varian started to dance around the room and his excitement brought in Ruddiger with a bright new red apple. Varian picked the raccoon up and started waving him around in all his excitement and then received another hit in the face with the fruit. 

“Ouch! Ruddiger! Looks like someone’s been helping with the apple harvest,” Varian said sarcastically. “Is this any way to treat the scientist who just invented the first time machine?” Ruddiger rolled his eyes, jumped out of Varian’s hands, picked up his apple and ate it under the table. 

“Ungrateful raccoon,” He said under his breath. 

Varian went back over to his workplace to make more of the working compound and stuffed the vials in his bag for later. 

“Now in order to properly test the machine, I will need to see if it can transport me through time, obviously,” He said with a short laugh. 

The machine itself was quite an amazing sight. It stood about 8 ft tall and was heavily armored with copper on all sides. It was sort of a box shape that only one person could fit in at a time, with a big glass sliding door at the front of the chamber and a slot for the activator compound to go in. On the right side, there were all kinds of knobs and buttons that were able to calculate exactly where and when a person would be traveling in time and a big lever inside the chamber that sets all of the coordinates. 

“Since this is my first test run, I’ll be setting the machine to one minute in the future, just to be safe...which is something I should probably be considering more of since I almost killed myself earlier,” Varian chuckled. “How does it work you say? Well, I’m glad you asked. All I have to do is wind the digits up to 0.1 and spin the knob which I modified to act as a location device. I’ll just set it to Old Corona and.. there! Now I just step into the chamber and pull the lever and it’s off to the future...hopefully.” 

Varian nervously laughed and then double-checked that everything was ready. “Okay. You can do this. You’ve been working on this for a year and this one hasn’t blown up yet so now’s your chance,” He said cautiously to himself. 

Varian began to slowly pull the lever inside of the machine when there was a commotion that sent Ruddiger darting out from under the table. He ran all over the machine, bumping the digits up to 100.0 and spinning the location device wildly. 

“Ruddiger no!” Varian tried to stop the machine, but it was too late. He had already pulled the lever, and he, unfortunately, didn’t make an emergency stop button. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of white that filled the room, and Varian was gone.


	2. New York, New York

“Aghhhhhhh!!” 

Varian dropped abruptly onto the ground and landed on his knees from the shock. 

“W-where am I?” Once his eyes adjusted to the lighting, he got up and examined his new surroundings. 

The scene encompassing Varian was quite different from the rolling hills and fields in Old Corona. He looked in front of him to find a giant “town square” type area with interesting looking buildings and shops on all sides. The walls of the buildings were comprised mostly of brick with big windows on each wall. 

“These works of architecture don’t look anything like the buildings in Corona,” Varian said to himself. “They look a  _ lot  _ sturdier and-woah is that?!” Varian’s voice raised three or four octaves as he marveled at the light shining through the window closest to him. 

“Are those  _ electric  _ lights?” Varian chuckled. “I have some of those in my lab! I can’t believe that my original idea traveled all the way here!” Varian said excitedly. 

“Speaking of which.. Where exactly is ‘here?’” He walked a little ways, having to push the hair out of his eyes every few steps because of the breeze. The wind suddenly picked up a stray newspaper on the ground which blew up and smacked right into his face. 

“Wha-agh! I’m  _ really  _ loving the wind.” Varian said sarcastically, and a little muffled because of the newspaper conveniently positioned on his face. 

“Well, what do we have here?” Varian said, taking the paper off his face. 

“The World Newspaper, July 16, 1899- 1899?!!” Varian paused to process what he just read.

“That means that my machine transported me…” Varian stopped, again, as he did the math.  “Over 100 years in the future!” He kept reading the paper to discover that he was also in Manhattan, New York. 

“So let me get this straight. _My_ time machine not only took me 100 years into the future, but it also took me to a place I’ve never even heard of! My invention actually works!” He exclaimed as he caught himself, 

“Just like I knew it would! Who’s the best scientist in the world? I’ll give you a hint. His name starts with ‘V’ and ends with ‘arian’. That’s right. It’s me.” Varian snickered as he went on with his bragging.

When he was finally done, he decided that he should learn more about New York and the “astounding advances in technology” that were there. He walked, about a block, to the nearest library located next to Jacobi’s Diner. 

When he walked in, he had to gasp. The library was a big room with chairs and tables wherever he looked. Multiple shelves of books on the wall towered above Varian, some reaching the ceiling. The ceiling was decorated with paintings that looked a little older than even his time. The carpet was immaculate with all kinds of designs, and in the right corner, there was an unlit fireplace. 

“This library is so much more intricate than Old Corona’s! Just look at all these books! There’s so much great material in here for-” 

“Shhh!” The librarian cut him off. 

“Oh sorry!” Varian whispered. 

“Clearly some people just don’t understand passion,” He added with a scoff. 

He walked around, every once and awhile gasping at the immense supply of books until he realized he had no idea what he was doing. Though he didn’t want to admit it, he couldn’t find the books that he wanted, so the only other option was to go up to the counter to talk to the librarian.

“Excuse me? Where are your best books on alchemy?” Varian asked politely. 

The librarian turned around to see a teenage boy, around sixteen, with a very exotic outfit. A white collared shirt under a striking red vest with gold buttons, a belt, and a long apron. He also had big bulky gloves, with what looked to be a watch on one of them. His hair was black and rumpled with an out-of-the-ordinary blueish-green streak, and on top of his head were some obnoxious looking goggles to finish the ensemble. She had never seen anything like it and could only assume that he was working at a theater somewhere. 

“Hello. I’m sorry I’m not sure what ‘alchemy’ is.”

Varian was flabbergasted at this. He was sure that 100 years in the future people would know about “the best form of science known to man.” He was completely prepared to recite his half-hour monologue titled “The Many Wonders of Alchemy” to the librarian, but he restrained himself from doing so. It would have been his 35th time saying that spiel, and he just didn’t have that kind of time today, especially for people who wouldn’t appreciate it.

“Wha- o- oh that’s okay. What about history books?” Varian asked, putting his hand on the back of his neck, which was a nervous habit of his.

“Those would be located in the history section just to your right. Very nice costume by the way!”

“Thanks?” Varian responded, confused. He walked over to a table near the history section and sat down. He wasn’t aware that his outfit would be so out of style by this point that it would be considered a costume. He figured the apron didn’t help much though. He took it off and put it in his bag while making a note to buy some new clothes later. 

“Hopefully she didn’t mean the goggles cause there’s no way I’m leaving these,” Varian said as he took them off his head, making his hair bounce up a little more from the lack of pressure. He stared at his reflection through the glass and a single tear trickled down his face. Varian’s goggles were a lot more than just a scientific fashion statement. His mom gave them to him before she died and he had worn them ever since. It was times like these that he missed her. She was always his biggest fan before she died, and whenever Varian built a new invention or created a new potion, or in this case figured out time travel, he always thought of her. To him, wearing the goggles was like carrying a little piece of her wherever he went and having the assurance that she still believed in him.

Varian put his goggles back on his head and wiped his cheek. It was not a good time for sentimentality now, he had some hardcore research to do! He started searching the shelves for a high-quality history book about New York. About ten minutes later, he found three good ones that he liked as well as a book about the technological advances in industry. He picked up one of the books and started reading, writing down notes as he went. When he finished reading the first book an hour later, he checked out the other three books and looked for a place to read them. The atmosphere in the library was far too quiet for his liking, especially because he kept getting shushed every time he got excited about a concept in the book. 

He walked back over to the fountain in Newsies Square and sat down on the edge. He spent the next three hours reading until he was certain he knew everything there was to know about New York. 

“First things first, I definitely shouldn’t mention that I’m from the past,” Varian notes with a nervous laugh. “The books said nothing about the invention of a time machine so I could potentially scare people, which I’ve done enough of in the past three years...” He trailed off the end of that sentence because he really didn’t want to think about all of his horrible decisions right at this moment. 

Varian was writing down some more notes about telephones and printing presses when he heard a voice in front of him.

“Would ya like to buy a pape mista?”

Varian looked up to see a boy around his age dressed in some old, ratty clothes. He had brown trousers with suspenders holding them up and a gray dress shirt under a dirty brown vest. He was also wearing some old lace-up boots that looked like the sole had worn out on one foot. He had a cap that looked like it was on backward, but the most conspicuous thing that Varian noticed about him was the crutch supporting his right leg that was dragging behind him.

“I’m sorry a what?” Varian asked, confused.

“A newspape sir,” the boy said again.

“Ohh you mean a newspaper!” Varian took out his notes and started reading them out loud. “ A printed publication consisting of folded unstapled sheets and containing news, feature articles, advertisements, and correspondence,” Varian said, slyly holding his up.

“Y-yeah. Well, ya already have one so I guess I’ll go. Have a nice day mista.”

“Wait!” Varian held out his arm for the boy to stop. “Don’t leave yet I’m very interested in this uh...thing you have under your arm.”

“Oh, ya mean my crutch? I’ve had it since I was a kid. I’ve got a bum leg and it helps me to walk.” The boy said while holding up his crutch.

“You know, I could definitely upgrade that for you. I’d just need to get some stuff from my lab...which isn’t exactly accessible at the moment,” he added under his breath with a chuckle.

“Y-you could? Really mista?” the boy asked hopefully.

“Of course it would be no problem! And you don’t have to keep calling me ‘mister,’” He added with a laugh. “My name’s Varian.” Varian stuck out his hand for the boy to shake it.

“Nice to meet ya Mista Varian! The name’s Crutchie.” Crutchie said as he shook Varian’s hand. “You have a very interestin’ name. I’ve never heard anythin' like it.”

“Heh. I could say the same about yours.” Varian said with a laugh. 

“Well, Crutchie’s my Newsie name. Me and the boys we’ve all got nicknames. There’s Racer, Specs, Buttons, Mike & Ike, Jojo-” Varian cut him off. 

“Those are some...names. Can you define ‘newsies’ for me? I can’t seem to find it anywhere.” Varian asked as he flipped through his books.

“Well sure! A newsie is someone who goes ‘round and sells papes for Pulitzer and Weasel and the Delanceys. Jeck hates the Delanceys. He says they used to be newsies but they got rich and started actin’ better than everyone else. Bein’ a newsie ain’t too much work. Ya just gotta put on a good show for the folks. I got a great smile so they always buy from me.” Crutchie said showing off his smile.

“Ah, I see. So you go around and sell newspapers to people? I’m curious, why do you do it?”

“Well, ya know. We gotta get paid so we can get some grub for the night.”

“So it’s like a job? What about your parents?” Varian asked satirically.

“I don’t got no folks. I never have. Just friends. We’re like a family, the boys and Jeck and me.”

“Oh wow. I’m sorry…” Varian mumbled, taken aback. He lost his dad for a year and he strayed way off course, losing all control and hurting people he cared for in the process. He couldn’t imagine not having his father with him for his whole life.

“It’s alright,” Crutchie responded brightly, snapping Varian out of his daydreams. “We get by okay. Jeck and me, we’s are like brothas! So where do ya come from Mista Varian?”

“Oh, it’s just Varian. And I come from.. er.. another town. I’m just visiting.” Varian answered, nervously laughing.

“Well welcome to Lower Manhattan! The place you’re sittin’ right now is the center of Newsies Square. It’s the main part of our turf. Hey! How’s about I show you’s around Varian? I know a lot about how things go ‘round ere!” Crutchie announced excitedly with a laugh. Varian wanted to decline so that he could get back to reading, but Crutchie was making puppy-dog-eyes that even Varian couldn’t say no to. And that was saying something because Varian had mastered the art of puppy-dog-eyes, though it was something he’d never confess to.

“Sure, why not,” Varian answered, reluctantly.

“Great!” 

Crutchie  took Varian all over Manhattan. He took him down Wall Street and Schermerhorn Row, selling papers all the way. The streets were filled with people walking very fast or painfully slow depending on their destination. Some people gladly accepted a newspaper from Crutchie while others briskly walked past him, sometimes spitting at him. 

Varian pondered over all of this and found himself feeling sad for Crutchie. The boy was treated so poorly and had to work just to get a meal for the night. Varian realized he had been taking meals for granted. He was able to get food so easily, yet sometimes he was so invested in a project that he still forgot to eat. Varian made a note to himself that if he ever got out of New York, he would provide Crutchie with his famous ham sandwiches  _ and _ make a brace for Crutchie’s hurt leg.

As they were walking, Varian started to get bored of Crutchie’s talking about Manhattan and “Jeck.” He couldn’t abandon Crutchie now though, so he took out one of his books and started reading again. 

Varian couldn’t focus on his reading, though, so instead, he became lost in his thoughts.

_ “Whoever this Jeck..or maybe Jack? It’s hard to tell with the accent. Anyways, whoever this person is, he sounds too good to be true. No one can really be  _ that _ great. I mean breaking out of jail and riding on the back of a carriage? Give me a break.” _

Eventually, Varian was so invested in his thoughts and so tired of walking around, that he didn’t think to watch where he was going.

“Agh!” Varian exclaimed as he fell to the ground. He looked up to discover he ran straight into a boy, who looked like another one of the newsies, on the street and scattered all of his newspapers.

“Hey! Watch where yer goin’!” 

The boy was about Varian’s age but much taller, and he was towering over him. Something about the sight of the boy intimidated Varian a little bit. The supposed newsie’s clothes looked to be newer than Crutchie’s but not by much. He had on long gray pants and a gray vest with a blue collared shirt underneath. His sleeves were rolled up and Varian could see the dirt and newspaper print all over his arms. On his head he wore a gray newsboy cap, that was worn the right way, Varian noted.

“I am so sorry,” Varian said with a nervous laugh. He got down and helped the boy pick up his papers.

“Don’t sweat it.” The boy said as he grabbed Varian’s hand to pull him up. Varian noticed his grip was very firm. Much like his own father’s. 

“It’s about quittin’ time for me anyways and-” The boy was cut off short when he got a better look at Varian.

“Well by the looks of it you should be gettin’ back to the theater. What’s with the costume kid? And what’s a rich kid like you doin’ out in the streets huh?” The boy asked with an accusatory tone.

_ “Costume again?”  _ Varian thought that since Crutchie didn’t say anything about his outfit that taking off the apron would do the trick, but apparently not.

“Oh..right..the costume. Well, you see-um I’m from...out of town and-uh I work at the um- theater there. I’m just visiting. Crutchie was just showing me around actually, heh. I’m Varian.” Varian went on cautiously, holding his hand out.

“Varian huh? Well, don’t feel too special. Crutchie makes sure to give a tour to all the new kids. The name’s Jack Kelly.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wait until you see all of the adventures Varian is going to have with the Newsies! It's gonna be fun! Thank you all so much for reading!!!


	3. "Stripe"

“Hey Jeck! Over here!” Crutchie shouted to Jack.  
“Haha how’s it goin’ Crutchie?” Jack asked while making his way over to where Crutchie was. Varian ran to catch up with them, tripping and falling on his knees in the process. This caused his backpack to fall, since it was only hanging on one of his shoulders, and all of his papers and vials spilled out. He started picking them up, but he glanced up to see the two newsboys embrace. He could tell that they had a very strong brotherly bond.  
“It’s goin’ pretty good Jeck! I’ve almost sold all my papes, I’ve only got five left, and Varian here, he’s helpin’ me! He said that he could make me something to fix my leg so that I don’t have to use a crutch anymore!”   
Jack’s smiling face changed at this. Varian noticed that he almost looked sad, but he was trying to hide it.  
“That’s… great Crutch. Why don’t you finish sellin’ yer papes while I talk to the new kid huh?”  
“Okay Jeck. See ya later!”  
Jack waved to him and turned around to face Varian who was picking up the spilled contents from his bag. Jack picked up one of the vials, eyeing it suspiciously.  
“So, Varian…”  
Varian swiped the vial away from Jack.  
“Hey, hey don’t touch that!”   
“Huh, well sorry for tryin’ to help.” Jack scoffed.  
Varian put the vial back in his bag and stood up.  
“Heh. Sorry, it’s just I’m a little protective over my stuff.” Varian told Jack.  
“I understand that.”  
Varian half-smiled at Jack who returned the gesture.  
“So kid, what’s with the hair?” Jack asked.  
Varian put his hand behind his neck which was one of his habits that he did subconsciously when he lied.  
“Ohhh heh. I like to...um..paint and the paint got in my hair...somehow and it won’t come out, heh.” Varian said cautiously.  
It wasn’t the best lie he could have told, but the real story behind the stripe in his hair was very long and complicated. Jack probably wouldn’t have understood it anyway.  
“Paint huh? Interesting.”  
It didn’t seem to Varian that Jack was completely convinced with his story, but if the moment came he could always tell him the truth.  
“So I heard that you wanted to help Crutchie?” Jack asked, changing the subject.  
Varian breathed a sigh of relief.  
“Yeah it wouldn’t be too hard I’d just have to-” Jack cut him off.  
“You seem like a good kid Varian. But I don’t want you gettin’ his hopes up. He’s had a bum leg since he was born.” Jack said slowly.  
Varian was confused as to why that would matter, but he still came up with an apology.  
“Oh, I’m sorry I had no idea.” Varian muttered looking down at the ground.  
“Just.. don’t mention it to him again.” Jack told him.  
“O-Okay.”  
Jack started to walk back in the direction of Newsies square, with Varian following close behind. Varian didn’t know that volunteering to help Crutchie would make Jack so upset, but he was sure that if he ever got back to his lab, he could make something to help Crutchie walk again.  
“Well kid, I’ve still got 10 papes to sell, if yer stayin’ here you should probably learn how to do a real job.”   
Jack handed Varian five newspapers and they started walking back towards Newsies Square. Every once in a while, Jack would come across someone strolling by. He would take his newspaper and wave it high in the air, yell a made-up catastrophe and sometimes the person bought from him. Varian watched Jack do this several times until Jack sold all of his papers.  
“Okay kid, now it’s your turn.” Jack said walking over to Varian.   
“Uh before I start, since you’re obviously the master of this, what were those-um, phrases you were saying?” Varian asked innocently.  
“Ah. You mean the headlines. The key to sellin’ papes is comin’ up with a convincin’ headline. The one on the pape is less than exciting, so why not make it better?” Jack told Varian, pointing out the headline on his paper.  
“So I just have to say an exaggerated phrase to get people to buy from me?” Varian asked again.  
“That’s all there is to it, kid.”  
Varian looked at the headline on the paper.  
“What is a Trolley Strike anyway?”  
Jack laughed. “Wow kid you really know nothing about New York do you?”  
“Well I bet you’d know nothing about Corona either.” Varian muttered sarcastically under his breath.  
“Huh?”  
“What? Oh nothing, heh. I’ll start selling the papers I guess,” Varian said with a short laugh.  
Varian waited for a little while until he saw a man walking by. He put on his most convincing face, mustered up all his courage, went over to the man, and did his best newsie impression.  
“Hey there mista! Can I interest you in a pape? There was a huge explosion durin’ the trolley strike today.”   
Varian smiled and held up his paper for the man to see.  
The man gave him a coin and took the paper while Varian slowly backed away before the man found out he lied. He was pretty shocked that the man actually bought from him because Varian couldn’t have had a worse New York accent. He turned back to Jack who almost looked impressed, but he couldn’t exactly tell since Jack was laughing so much.   
Varian kept on with this routine, even getting better with his accent, until he sold all of his papers. He came up with some pretty convincing headlines and even manipulated people into buying from him by throwing in a small cough or a sad smile. When he was finished, he went back over to Jack, who was actually smiling now.  
“Not bad for a new kid.” Jack said, playfully punching Varian on the shoulder.  
“Why, thank you.” Varian pronounced dramatically as he made an elaborate bow. He was really starting to have fun with the whole “theater” thing. He gave the coins to Jack and sat on the side of the fountain.  
The sun started to set, turning the sky beautiful shades of pink and orange. It reminded Varian of the stunning sunsets he saw in Old Corona during the fall. The wind began to get colder and Varian started shivering.  
“Well kid, we should probably head over to Jacobi’s for some chow huh?” Jack said, gesturing for Varian to follow him.  
“Jacobi’s? Ohhh that restaurant we saw earlier. Sure I’ll come! I won’t eat anything, though because I don’t think they’d take my form of currency,” Varian laughed nervously.  
“Don’t worry about it. You earned your fair share of the dough sellin’ papes so you can take what you earned and buy some grub if you like.”   
Jack and Varian walked the block to Jacobi’s diner. On the outside, the diner looked like the rest of the buildings in Newsies square. Its exterior was made of brick, it had windows on the sides of it, and it had a big green and white striped canopy in the front. On the door, there was a sign that said “Jacobi’s Diner” which was also included in one of the windows.  
“So, this is where you eat every day?” Varian asked Jack.  
“Yeah, this is the usual hangout spot for the boys. They should be in there now. We usually come here around this time, just before customers start comin’ in, so that we can have the place to ourselves.” Jack said, leaning against the door.  
“Oh where I come from we have a hangout spot too! It’s called the Snuggly Duckling and-”  
Jack cut Varian off and started laughing again.  
“Wait the Snuggly Duckling? And I thought your name was weird.”  
Varian grabbed his right arm and looked down, slightly embarrassed.   
“Heh. Yeah, uh-”  
Just then another newsie walked through the door causing Jack to fall over clumsily. Now it was Varian’s turn to laugh.  
“Yeah, yeah laugh it up kid. Huh, guess I deserved that one.” Jack said slightly smiling while he picked himself up.  
The other newsie was laughing too, and Varian got a better look at him. He was taller than Jack but he looked about the same age, and he was wearing an orange, white, and blue striped shirt with circular framed glasses on his face.  
“So Jack, what are you doin’ out here? The party’s in the-”  
He stopped for a second to look at Varian who gave a slight smile and a small wave.  
“Who’s your friend?” The newsie asked Jack.  
“Specs this is-”  
“I’m Varian!” Varian interrupted and held out his hand for Specs to shake.  
“Huh. Nice hair kid,” Specs remarked as he headed inside with Jack following behind.  
Varian started to walk in while sarcastically mumbling under his breath.  
“It’s always about the hair or the clothes. It’s never ‘wow Varian you have a great knowledge of science’ or ‘Varian you have such a great personality!’ No. It’s my hairstreak or my clothes which actually happen to be very in style in Corona!” Varian didn’t realize he started to yell halfway into his spiel and now Jack and Specs were staring at him.  
“Hey hairstripe, you okay?” Specs asked cautiously.  
“What? Oh yeah..heh. Also it’s Var-” Varian started to say until he realized Specs was walking away.   
“Oh never mind,” He said frustratingly.  
Varian, Jack, and Specs walked into the back room of Jacobi’s where it looked like a bomb full of newsies had just exploded. There were kids laying on tables, sitting in windows, and kneeling on chairs. There were pretty much boys everywhere Varian looked. Jack went over to sit at a table, and Varian stood next to him.  
“Aye it’s Jack!” One of the boys shouted causing everyone else to sit up.  
“Jack what took ya so long?” Another one of the boys asked.  
“Hey who’s the new kid Jack?” Another Newsie asked gesturing to Varian.  
“Easy, boys don’t crowd him.” Jack responded playfully.  
“Hey Racer! How was work today?” Jack asked as he went over to one of the newsies.   
“Racer” had a blue and green plaid shirt over a blue and white striped shirt, both which looked dirty and worn out. He also had blond curly hair under his gray flatcap. But what stood out to Varian the most was the brown stick-like thing coming out of his mouth.  
“It was pretty good, Jack.” Racer responded.  
“Nothin’ much happened except for runnin into the Delanceys once or twice.”  
Race stopped when he saw Varian.  
“Hey who’s the new kid?” He asked coming over and ruffling Varian’s hair.  
Varian backed up as he wasn’t expecting this, and took off his goggles to clean off the smudges.  
“Woah, woah. Haven’t you guys heard of personal space?” Varian said angrily to Racer.  
“Easy there, Stripe I was just showin’ some affection. The name’s Race.”   
Varian laughed and looked at Jack.  
“And you said my name was weird? Heh.”  
“I’m Varian,” Varian said as he turned back to Race.  
“Around here that’s a pretty weird name, Varitain,” another newsie cut in.  
“It’s Varian,” Varian corrected him.  
“Yeah, whatever. I’m just gonna call ya... Stripe!” He exclaimed, gesturing to the blue in Varian’s hair. “I’m Finch.”  
“Terrific.” Varian remarked satrilically under his breath.   
Varian put his goggles back on his head as Finch went on about Varian’s hair.  
“Blue hair? Who’s idea was that?” Finch asked playfully.  
“Heh. Yeah? Well at least I’m not named after a bird.” Varian fired back.  
“Ooooh,” All the newsies said in unison.  
Varian turned back to Race.  
“So Race, I have to ask, what’s that thing in your mouth? I’m fascinated by it. Does it have any medical properties that help you breathe?” Varian got out one of his books from his backpack.   
“I was reading somewhere that doctors prescribe inhalers for a condition called asthma, which I could probably fix alchemically in a few days, but I’ve never seen one that looked like that.” He flipped through his book a couple times to find the page he was looking for.  
Race looked at Varian confused for a few seconds but then finally understood what he was saying.  
“Oh you mean my cigar? Nah, I just smoke it cause it’s somethin’ to do.” Race replied carelessly.  
Varian closed his book abruptly and looked at Race.  
“So, it has nothing to do with science?” Varian asked slowly.  
“Nope! I just found it on the street one day and started smokin’ it.” Race replied, putting the cigar back in his mouth and walking back to where he was sitting on the other side of the room.  
“Oh, heh.” Varian laughed nervously and put his book in his backpack.   
Finch walked over to Varian and smirked.  
“Well at least I know what a cigar is.” He said slyly.  
Varian laughed. “Heh. Okay... touche.” He said with an eye roll.  
“Hey don’t feel too bad, kid. Finch is too stupid to know what any of that meant, anyway.” Jack chuckled.  
“Hey! I heard that!” Finch yelled back at Jack.  
Another newsie reached over and grabbed Race’s cigar from out of his mouth and ran over to Varian.  
“Hey Stripe. The name’s Albert. Take this and run,” Albert whispered as he handed the cigar to Varian.   
“Oh so I see that that name has stuck. Great.” Varian remarked sarcastically, pushing the cigar back to Albert.  
“Hey, if a kid shows up with blue hair, it’s gonna be mentioned more than once.” He replied.  
Varian fired back another insult. He was on fire today.  
“Well at least I don’t have to hide all of my hair under a huge hat.” Varian said referring to the giant backwards hat that Albert was wearing.  
“Hey! Just because I don’t want to show it doesn’t mean I don’t have good hair!” Albert said back, offended.  
“Yes it does. Your hair is a mess, Albert,” another newsie yelled from the other end of the room.  
“Oh shut up Romeo.” Albert laughed while going over to tackle him.  
Race ran over and snatched his cigar back while another newsie came over and swiped it again.  
“Race you’re as good at keepin’ your cigar in your mouth as you are with sellin’ papes!” The newsie yelled, high fiving the newsie next to him.  
The two came over to Varian and introduced themselves.  
“Nice to meet ya Stripe. Interestin’ costume! I’m Mike and this is Ike.”   
“Mike and Ike? Ha! The names just keep getting better!”  
Varian was interrupted again when another newsie crashed into him.  
“Sorry Stripe! My name’s Elmer.” Elmer said as he took off his hat and bowed.  
“Wow! A normal name!” Varian said with fake enthusiasm.  
“Speak for yourself Varian!” Race yelled from the other side of the room.  
“ Heh. Yeah I guess you got me there.” Varian laughed.  
“What’s with that streak in yer hair by the way?”   
“Well if you truly want to know, it was a- er- painting incident.” Varian lied. “Great, now my stuff is everywhere. Again.” He remarked sarcastically.  
“Oh yeah, sorry, my bad Stripe.” Elmer laughed while picking up some vials and papers from Varian’s bag. “What is all this stuff?” He asked while moving a vial with a glowing green liquid around in his hands.  
“Agh! Don’t touch that!” Varian shouted as he grabbed the vial from Elmer.  
Elmer was startled by this, and he threw up his hands in mock defeat.  
“Heh, er- I mean it’s um-props? For the play I’m doing. I just don’t want them to get… um- smudged.” Varian laughed nervously as he put the vial back in his bag.  
“Oh...okay. See ya around, Stripe.”  
Elmer ran over to tackle Race and they started wrestling.  
Varian sighed in relief as he picked up his other vials and his books off the ground for what felt like the fifth time that day. When he was done, he sat down in a chair, grabbed his notebook, and started writing as Crutchie came over and leaned against the table.  
“Hey Mista Varian! Did ya have fun with Jack?” Varian looked up to see Crutchie with the brightest smile.  
“Oh, hi Crutchie. Yeah he showed me how to sell papers. It was actually a lot of fun.” Varian said with a slight smile.  
“Yeah! Jeck’s the best! What are you workin’ on Varian?” Crutchie asked.  
“Oh, heh. Ya- ya know.. just some notes about...theater stuff?” Varian said unsure as he put his hand behind his neck.  
Suddenly, an older man came into the room and looked around at all of the newsies.  
“Boys I’m gonna need you to leave now. I’ve got some payin’ customers coming in who need to eat.”  
Varian noticed that the man had a distinct accent that he didn’t recognize.  
“Would any of you boys like to buy food before you leave?”  
Some of the newsies raised their hands and the man, who Varian learned later was named Jacobi, brought them a slice of bread and some water. Varian raised his hand too and was brought the same.  
“That’ll be five cents.” Jacobi told Varian.  
Varian got out his money for the day and found out that he didn’t have enough. Varian stared at Jacobi with a slightly scared and embarrassed face until Jack came over and slammed down some of his money on the table.  
“Come on kid, we gotta go,” Jack gestured to Varian.  
Varian got out of his chair, put his notebook back in his bag, and walked to the door with Jack and the other newsies.  
“Thank you for what you did back there.” Varian mentioned to Jack as they left the restaurant.  
“Don’t sweat it, kid. I had some dough left over. Figured I could share.” Jack said with a shrug.  
Their conversation was interrupted as Race ran by.  
“See ya Jack! Bye Stripe!” Race shouted as he walked down the street with a couple of the other newsies.  
“Where are you going?” Varian asked, not realizing that he was saying it out loud.  
Race heard him and stayed back for a second to talk to him.  
“Well we gotta find a place to stay for the night. The alley over that way is usually safe.” Race replied with a wink.  
Varian was still confused.  
“So you don’t have houses?”  
Race laughed.  
“Ha, I haven’t slept in a house since I was five years old. We sleep on the streets. It’s what we’re used to. We don’t got enough dough for a roof.” Race said carelessly.  
“Oh…” Varian trailed off.  
“Well I’ll see ya Stripe! Hope you stick around!” Race saluted him and ran down the street to catch up with the other newsies.  
Jack and Crutchie started walking away and Varian ran to catch up with them. He didn’t have anywhere else to go and he felt like he was safe with Jack.  
“Well kid, if you have a place somewhere close by, I recommend goin’ there.” Jack mentioned after awhile.  
Varian’s heart sank. He didn’t know what to do or where he was so he just made up a weak excuse.  
“Oh, um, my house is...really, really far away.” He trailed off.  
Crutchie saw how sad Varian looked and nudged Jack. Jack looked Varian and then back at Crutchie, and they started having a sort of silent conversation that consisted of a lot of nudging. Finally, Jack spoke up.  
“Fine, Crutch. Just for a minute though.”  
He turned back to Varian.  
“Well kid, I mean Varian, we have some room where we stay if you’d like to join us.” Jack said reluctantly.  
“Really? Wow that would actually be great. Thank you.” Varian responded, smiling.  
Jack, Varian, and Crutchie walked a little more until Jack and Crutchie stopped behind a tall abandoned house. The house had a ladder in the back which Jack proceeded to climb up. Crutchie gave Varian a smile and followed Jack, somehow keeping his balance on one leg. Varian climbed up after Crutchie until he was almost to the top of the ladder. Jack grabbed Varian’s hand and pulled him up the rest of the way.  
“Varian, welcome to the penthouse in the sky.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! Sorry it took so long to post the next part but I hope it was worth the wait! Also I can't figure out how to double space (even though my other chapters have been double spaced) so if you know, please tell me! XD I hope everyone is staying safe and enjoying their "Coronacation!"


	4. The Rooftop

Varian looked at the scene unfolding around him. The “penthouse in the sky” was actually an abandoned rooftop with a view of the entire city. The sky was beautiful that night, clear and bright with stars shining. The city below them was illuminated with colored lights from skyscrapers and houses. When Varian stopped staring at the beautiful view, he glanced around the roof. The rooftop itself was flat and pretty high up with only one railing on the side. Varian noticed that there was a single “blanket” crudely made of old scraps of cloth that Crutchie had wrapped around himself. There were drawings and sketches scattered all over the floor which Jack quickly picked up and shoved in a tube before Varian could take a better look at them. Varian did, however, find a painting about to blow away in the wind which he snagged and looked at.  
The painting was of a gradient sunset with oranges and reds and some purple mountains in the front. The colors reminded Varian of Rapunzel’s paintings in her room and all over the castle walls.  
Varian brought the picture over to Jack.  
“Wow. Jack, did you paint this? It’s really good.” Varian said in awe.  
Jack was about to take the painting, but he figured Varian was trustworthy enough to take care of it.  
Jack laughed, “It’s just a bunch of mountains and a sky. Anyone could do it,” He shrugged.  
Varian took off his backpack and rummaged through it, trying to find his drawings to show Jack.  
“You know, I, uh, actually draw too. It’s not as good as yours by all means, heh. But uh...yeah,” Varian smiled nervously and handed the drawing to Jack. It was a sketch of Newsies square that he had done while he was jotting down notes.  
When Jack saw the drawing he was shocked. It was a perfect replica of Newsies Square down to the cobblestone roads.  
“Kid, this...this is pretty great.”  
Varian looked up.  
“Real-Really?” Varian asked, smiling. “Ahem, I mean, yeah thanks,” He added, trying to sound chill.  
Jack looked back at Crutchie who was already asleep and then sat down next to Varian.  
“So, kid, I just wanted to say I’m sorry about givin’ you’s such a hard time about Crutchie. I’ve just had some trouble in the past with trustin’ people,” Jack said quietly.  
“Heh. Yeah me too.” Varian put his hand behind his neck and laughed nervously. “And don’t worry about it, Jack. It’s no big deal.”  
The two boys looked at each other and smiled.  
“I have to say, New York is very interesting. Much different from Co- the place I come from, heh. I mean the scientific advances and technology are astounding!”  
“Advances in...what do you mean?” Jack asked, confused.  
“Oh, well uh, where I come from it’s different than here. W-we...don’t have much, you know?”  
Varian mentally slapped himself for that one.  
“I know what you mean, kid. There’s not much here either. At least not for me.”  
Jack gazed off into the night, and Varian could sense a backstory coming. He waited for Jack to say something, but when nothing came, he spoke up.  
“Uh, what do you mean Jack?” Varian asked, slowly.  
“Well kid, to be honest, I don’t normally do ‘backstory,’” he said in air quotes, “But here’s the gist of it. When I first met Crutchie, I was just like you, I wanted to help him. I searched for anyone who could do something to help Crutchie. Then one day, someone told me, promised me that they could help him if I just paid them 10 cents upfront. It was my entire week’s pay, but I was desperate. I gave in and gave them the money. They told me to wait for them to bring supplies, but they never came. By the time I realized that I’d been played, I was arrested for loiterin’ and sent to a juvenile jail called the Refuge. And let me tell you, kid, jail’s no fun.”  
“Oh trust me, I know,” Varian said under his breath.  
“What?”  
“Oh no-nothing,” Varian stuttered, “Continue.”  
Jack sighed deeply. “Well, after I got out the first time, I may have...borrowed some food and clothes for the kids in the refuge. They barely gave us anything and I thought I could do them some good. Unfortunately, I was caught. I was s’posed to be there for 6 months but I was able to escape. I’ve been runnin’ from the law for ‘bout a year now,” Jack said sadly.  
“Wow, Jack. I-I’m sorry.”  
“After an experience like that, it’s just been hard for me to trust people.”  
“Yeah I know what you mean, heh,” Varian said solemnly.  
“Ha, kid you got a lot more outta me than I expected.” Jack laughed and punched Varian lightly on the arm.  
“Anyways, what about you, Varian? What’s goin’ on with you? I doubt a good kid like you’s would end up in jail, heh,” Jack laughed and looked at Varian.  
“Haha, oh you’d be surprised...” Varian trailed off nervously.  
“Oh, ho? Come on, kid, you I told ya my story.”  
Varian eventually caved. “Okay, okay, fine. Uh, let’s see. So back where I’m from, we had an..er-problem and I wanted to try to fix it though my dad told me I shouldn’t. Long story short, I messed up pretty bad, endangering my dad and putting my trust in someone who wasn’t able to help at the time. I became... reckless. I made some really bad decisions and I was put in prison for a year. Unlike you, I deserved it. I’m okay now because of help from my friends, but it was a...dark time for me.” Varian looked down as all of those terrible flashbacks came flooding back.  
Jack sat there, stunned. He had no idea that this innocent-looking kid was carrying so much baggage. Jack put his hand on Varian’s shoulder causing Varian to look up at him.  
“Wow, kid. That...That sounds hard.”  
“Yeah…” Varian trailed off. Thinking about all that had happened in the past 3 years had really made him homesick. Especially for his dad and Rudigger.  
Jack and Varian were both silent for a while until Jack tried to change the subject.  
“You know kid, if we’re gonna make a newsie out of you, you’re gonna need to ditch that costume,” Jack mentioned.  
Varian laughed and cheered up a little. “Heh. I would, but I don’t have any money or any extra clothes,” He shrugged.  
Jack walked over to a spot on the roof that looked to be some sort of hatch. He took something out of it and walked back over to Varian.  
“Well, how about we start with this.”  
Jack held out a worn, gray, newsboy cap that looked like it was just Varian’s size.  
Varian’s face immediately brightened, and he took off his goggles which he put in his bag.  
“Wow! Thanks, Jack!” He exclaimed while putting on the hat.  
“Don’t mention it. And as for the rest of your clothes, I gotcha covered,” Jack told him with a wink.  
Varian took off the hat and looked at it closer. It looked about 20 years old, maybe more. He looked inside of it to find writing, “C.R. Kelly.”  
“Jack, where did you get this?” Varian asked, suspiciously.  
“Oh you know, I just found it on the street. It’s no big deal, really.”  
Varian wasn’t convinced. Jack’s last name was Kelly and that was definitely what was inscribed on the inside of the hat.  
“Are you sure? It says your last name on the inside.”  
Jack looked at the hat and sighed. “Fine. You got me, kid. Okay, the truth is...that hat was...my dad’s.”  
“Oh wow. A-are you sure you want me to have it?” Varian asked.  
Jack shrugged. “It’s no big deal kid. He’s gone now anyways. Passed away when I was a kid. He worked so hard doin’ rotten jobs and bein’ treated unfairly, until one day the pressure just broke him. He was thrown out on the streets. I kept his hat as a reminder that I can always do better. Maybe if he were here today, he’d be proud of me.” Jack looked down at the hat and then handed it back to Varian.  
“And now you’ve got me ‘backstoryin’ again, kid! How do you do that?”  
“Talent,” Varian joked with a smirk. “But yeah, I totally know what you mean. My whole life all I’ve ever wanted to do was to make my dad proud of me, but I came to find out that I didn’t need to make him proud of me. He always had been, and I didn’t have to change anything about myself for that to happen, ” Varian said softly. He put on his hat and looked up at Jack.  
I’m sure your dad would have been proud of you too, Jack,” Varian told him, smiling, “And I’ll make sure to take good care of his hat.”  
Jack looked at him awkwardly, but then eventually smiled back.  
“Haha. Well, kid, it’s gettin’ pretty late. It’s probably time to stop talkin’ about our daddy issues and get some shut-eye, eh?” Jack said, playfully punching Varian on the arm.  
“Heh, yeah that would probably be a good idea,” Varian laughed nervously while rubbing his arm. Jack’s “playful” punches actually kind of hurt, but he was getting used to them.  
Jack started walking over to where Crutchie was sleeping when Varian stopped him.  
“Uh, Jack? I just wanted to say...thanks. For everything,” Varian said awkwardly.  
Jack looked back at him and smiled, “Don’t mention it...Stripe.”  
Jack quickly fell asleep next to Crutchie, leaving Varian alone with his thoughts. As the night drew on, Varian realized the gravity of his situation. He was stuck 100 years in the future, miles away from his home with no way of getting back because he didn’t have a second time machine.  
“Okay, Varian,” he whispered to himself while fishing out his notebook from his bag. “You really messed up this time, but you’ve been through worse, heh. All we have to do is build a new machine.” He flipped his notebook to his original plans and started writing down the parts he needed.  
“No problem, we got this.”  
This was Varian’s key phrase to reassure himself. He said it about 23 times before he started to drift off to sleep.  
“No problem...we’ve got…”  
Varian finally fell asleep curled up in the corner of the roof. He was exhausted from all that had happened that day, and he also was sleep deprived from the night before since he stayed up all night working on his machine. Unfortunately, since he usually fell asleep doing his work, he was completely unaware that he had forgotten to put his notebook and his drawings of the time machine back inside of his bag.  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Jack woke up before the circulation bell rang and started getting dressed. He liked to get a head start so that he could help Crutchie get ready if he needed to. He walked over to Varian sleeping in the corner, his dad’s hat drooping down covering his eyes. Jack chuckled and then noticed some papers ruffling in the wind next to the sleeping boy. The only thing that was keeping them from flying away was a book that had fallen out of Varian’s bag. Jack picked up the papers so that they didn’t move, but while doing so he got a better glance at one of the pages. Jack read what it said, and was utterly confused.  
“Time machine?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so someone pointed out to me that this was basically just Jeremy Jordan talking to himself...I mean you aren't wrong. 😂😂😂  
> Anyways, Jack and Varian are becoming friends!! I had so much fun writing this chapter and I hope y'all enjoyed reading it!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm going to try my best to see if I can post a new chapter every week! I hope you enjoyed the story!


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